|
|
NOVA News Minutes
Anorexia and Race
(running time 01:26)
Transcript
July 25, 2003
NARRATOR: There's a general perception that eating
disorders like anorexia are "white girls'" problems. As
shown on PBS's "NOVA," eight million people in America,
mostly young women, suffer from anorexia, or
self-starvation. It is the deadliest of all psychiatric
disorders. But does it equally affect all races?
MICHELLE TALBERT (About Starting College):
When I grew up in predominantly black neighborhoods, it was
never an issue, and it never affected me before I came here,
and all of a sudden now everyone's so little, you know?
NARRATOR: A study involving 2,000 young black and
white women found that black women were less likely to get
certain eating disorders.
RUTH STRIEGEL-MOORE (Professor of Psychology at
Wesleyan University): We found no case of a black
young woman with anorexia nervosa in this study. What may be
going on is that they're under less pressure to be
super-thin. In fact, there's quite a bit of research that
shows that black women prefer to be moderately thin, they
don't want to be skinny thin.
NARRATOR: The study, published in the
American Journal of Psychiatry, shows that
African-American girls do get other eating disorders, like
bulimia and binge eating disorder, and they're less likely
to seek treatment than white girls.
RUTH STRIEGEL-MOORE (Professor of Psychology at
Wesleyan University): Because eating disorders are so
identified as being problems of white women, the physician
may not ask about it, and the woman herself may not think
about it as an eating disorder or as a problem for which you
go and seek help.
NARRATOR: Scientists are now doing similar studies
with other ethnic groups. I'm Brad Kloza.
Ask the Experts
|
Watch the Program
|
Share Your Story
Help/Resources
|
Minority Women: The Untold Story
|
One Man's Battle
Body Needs
|
Transcript
|
Site Map
|
Dying to be Thin Home
Editor's Picks
|
Previous Sites
|
Join Us/E-mail
|
TV/Web Schedule
| About NOVA
Watch NOVAs online
|
Teachers |
Site Map
|
Shop
|
Search |
To Print
PBS Online |
NOVA Online |
WGBH
©
| Updated July 2003
|
|
|